Oleksii Mustafin

In Bed with the Bear

Neighbouring Russia as a historical challenge Non-fiction. Kyiv 2023. approximative. 200 pages

This book tells the story of the uneasy experience of coexistence with a state that is constantly seeking to expand its borders, while at the same time complaining about prejudiced attitude from those who live next door to it. Even after the aggression of Russia against Ukraine not all people in Europe have understood that they shouldn’t reassure themselves that such problems only affect Ukrainians, Belarusians or Moldovans. History shows that if the aggressor is not dealt with in time, any country in Europe and even in the world can eventually become Russia‘s neighbour. Comparing Russia to a bear seems obvious to many today. However, such an association arose in the 16th century completely unintentionally and almost by chance. Only later did the Moscow rulers do their part to justify this association with a bear. Could it have been different? In the corresponding Russian folk tale, too, the bear does not defend his private space from invasions like his three English colleagues, but forces a girl who has gotten lost in the forest to live with him under the same rule – and threatens her with death if she does try to escape. Russia itself usually does not wait for someone to come, but boldly invades other people‘s houses and declares them its own. This book attempts to tell the story of exactly how that happens. From the first victim Novgorod where people lived and developed independently, forming their own cultural, economic and political tradition, being absorbed by Muscovy in the 15th and 16th centuries, to the Tatars, Belarusians and Ukrainians over many centuries. Finally, all of this culminated in an attempt to establish a power over the whole of Europe by fueling up national conflicts between the Western States, using not only the army, but also bribes and propaganda. Mustafin reveales also historical details mostly unknown to the broad Western audience. For example Bakhmut known today as a place of heavy fighting between the Russian army and the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The town has a long history though. It first came into prominence in the early 18th century. Back then, Ukrainians and their Russian neighbours, the Don Cossacks, were fighting each other for the local salt mines.